Even though nodes are private property, many of us share our bandwidth out of a sense of public responsibility.
I share my bandwidth b/c I like using other peoples' nodes when I'm in their area and I need internet access. So for me, it's about sharing resources with the community. In that sense, unforced donations actually seem to fit the group's mission quite well. The reason why I brought it up on the list as a /suggested/ donation is that I wanted to _avoid_ the idea of instituting Donations As Policy. Part of that reason is b/c I think that PayPal links on nodedb might not work as intended. 1> PayPal donation links on nodedb could be interpreted as 'Money for Access'. That would go against the mission of the group (forced donations suck). 2> If it's interpreted as Money For Access, it could be considered reselling end-user internet access. That is something we don't want to do. But we do want to promote the idea of good citizenship. By promoting the idea of small donations "for those times when that connection came in handy" we make it a personal decision on the part of the user which does a lot more to promote the idea of good citizenship than the ogre of an admin at a toll bridge would. We already have good citizenship on the part of the node admins - otherwise the nodes wouldn't be there. And even if it weren't illegal to resell your internet access, putting the onus on the part of the admins only succeeds in creating lots of micro T-Mobile/Starbucks providers. If we wanted to provide a donation mechanism on the nodedb entires, we could do something where the donation wouldn't have to be direct. Node admins could make a Charity List where "donations can be made in my name to the following..." This list could either be in the comments section of the nodedb entry or it could be in a new field created just for this purpose. Since it does seem as if a few people are keen to this idea, I would suggest that the main thing would be to promote it but never make it policy. We can do this by mentioning it in wireless user FAQs or to new users whenever appropriate. Either way, I'm going to start suggesting the idea whenever I tell anyone new about nycwireless. Cheers. -kc. > From: "Jacob Farkas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 11:03:16 -0400 > Subject: [nycwireless] Donations for node usage > > Nodes are private property and are up to the discretion of the node operator > to decide policy. > > As a group we should strive to build the best, largest, and freely available > wireless network possible. Most of our nodes are private networks that > people have set up for their own use and have generously allowed public > access. The Internet connection is there anyway, and the equipment is there > anyway. Why not share? > > Sure, it is costly to support a high speed connection, and it is conceivable > that some would look for methods to offset that cost (Through donations, > etc.). This is a personal decision, and not something that should involve > the group. > > Options that are available currently would include adding a link on your > captive portal page (For PayPal or other service), and if you don't use > NoCatAuth, you can leave a comment on your NodeDB entry suggesting that a > donation be made. Those who want to contribute will know where to reach you. > > Jacob Farkas -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
